Benjamin Feltz, 2017 (Wood Co. Jail)
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A man who admitted to drinking about “half a bottle” of floor cleaner before being naked in public, stealing an ambulance with a patient inside and leading police on an 18-mile chase, pleaded not guilty Monday.
Benjamin Feltz, 37, of Stevens Point, is charged with 10 counts, including first-degree recklessly endangering safety, lewd and lascivious behavior and his third offense of operating while intoxicated for the Feb. 17 incident.
No trial date was set. Feltz returns to court July 24 for a pre-trial conference, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint, just before 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17, Wisconsin Rapids police received a report of a naked man doing push-ups in public and screaming profanities at people nearby.
Soon after, two EMS workers tending to a patient said they heard the door to their ambulance close and saw a man in the driver’s seat matching witness descriptions of the naked man. They yelled at the man, ordering him to get out. One EMS worker got out of the back of the ambulance to try to stop the man. As the man started to drive away, the other EMS worker jumped out the back of the vehicle for his own safety.
The patient, a 50-year-old woman, later told police she yelled at the man that she was dying from kidney disease, but he never responded.
Law enforcement officials from multiple departments chased the ambulance, with speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour. The complaint says the driver was “driving with utter disregard, swerving and causing other vehicles to stop.” Eventually, police were able to use a tire deflation device to cause the ambulance to go off the road into a muddy cornfield near Pittsville, where it became stuck.
After pulling Feltz from the ambulance, officers checked the status of the patient in the back. Details of her condition were not provided.
A breathalyzer test showed no alcohol in Feltz’s system. According to the complaint, he told police there may have been some “pot” in his system, but he was unsure when he had used it. He also admitted drinking Fabuloso floor cleaner sometime in the afternoon.
“He did not have a clear reason for doing this,” the complaint says. “He stated it was not in attempts to harm or kill himself.”
After the interview, Feltz allegedly made threats against officers.
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